Key points
- Nearly 200 GXO drivers working on the NHS supply contract will strike on 15 days between 13 October and 12 November.
- They rejected a 4% pay offer in a near-unanimous vote.
- According to GXO, the NHS-owned client has ruled out a higher offer.
- It is the latest in a series of UK driver pay disputes this year.
The drivers, members of the Unite union, are employed by GXO, which runs the NHS supply contract for Supply Chain Coordination Limited (SCCL), a company wholly owned by NHS England, Unite announced. In September, we reported that the drivers had rejected the offer and were voting on strike action.
Where and when
The drivers are based at depots in:
- Alfreton (Derbyshire),
- Bridgwater (Somerset),
- Normanton (West Yorkshire),
- Maidstone (Kent),
- Rugby (Warwickshire),
- Bury St Edmunds (Suffolk),
- Washington (Tyne and Wear).
Strikes are planned for 13-15 October, 20-22 October, 27–29 October, 3-5 November and 10-12 November. Unite says the action will intensify if the dispute is not resolved.
The drivers deliver general equipment, such as bandages, dressings, gowns, gloves and needles, to hospitals across England. Neither GXO nor NHS England has said publicly how deliveries will be maintained during the strikes.
Why 4% was not enough
According to Unite, GXO workers on the NHS contract have worse terms and conditions than staff on standard NHS contracts, including a much lower pension.
GXO says SCCL has ruled out increasing the pay offer. According to the union, the client argued that 4% is already more than NHS staff were offered.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham accused GXO of threatening to withdraw its original offer instead of negotiating. Regional officer Phil Silkstone said “there is still time for strike action to be avoided”, but only with a deal the members can accept.
Caught in the middle
For GXO, the contract is a flagship. In May 2025, the company announced a 10-year, $2.5 billion agreement to run eight NHS Supply Chain distribution centres and a fleet of more than 300 vehicles.
The dispute shows a problem many contract logistics firms know well. When the client sets the budget, and the client is publicly funded, the operator has little room to raise pay. The drivers want more, the client says no, and the operator is left in the middle.
Part of a wider wave
The NHS drivers are not alone. UK driver pay disputes have multiplied in 2026:
- in September, more than 3,000 Tesco warehouse workers and drivers accepted a 4.5% pay rise after a strike threat,
- in June, nearly 500 Eddie Stobart drivers supplying Morrisons won equal pay rates and conditions for new drivers,
- in July, tanker drivers at Oxalis Logistics in Bristol began an indefinite strike, demanding the same pay as colleagues in Birmingham, who earn nearly 20% more,
- in September, around 60 Hovis drivers in Bristol suspended a strike after an improved pay offer.
What it means for operators
- Pay expectations are rising. A 4% offer was rejected here, while 4.5% settled the Tesco dispute.
- It is not only about base pay. Pensions, conditions and pay gaps between sites or between new and existing drivers are common triggers.
- Contracts need room for pay rises. Operators working for large clients should make sure their contracts allow labour cost increases to be passed on.
- Customers’ disputes can become your problem. Strikes at a client or partner can disrupt volumes and schedules at short notice.
Whether hospitals feel the impact depends on what happens in the coming days. For the wider industry, the message is already clear: drivers know their value, and offers that ignore pensions and conditions are increasingly hard to sell.
